The City on the Edge of Forever (episode)
After taking an accidental overdose of cordrazine, Doctor Leonard McCoy goes back in time and changes history. Summary The ''Enterprise'' passes through violent time distortions surrounding a strange planet. During one of these events, the center console on the bridge sparks and Lt. Sulu is injured. Doctor McCoy is called to the bridge for emergency first aid. He prepares a hypo of cordrazine, warned by Kirk that it's "tricky stuff". After Sulu is revived, the ship rocks violently as it passes through a very heavy time displacement. McCoy falls on the hypo and is injected with an extreme overdose of the red liquid. He shouts in pain. The negative effects of the drug push him to paranoia, and he is convinced that he is at risk of death from "murderers" and "assassins". He breaks free from a hold on him by Spock and escapes the bridge. Kirk scrambles security teams; however, McCoy reaches the transporter room, disables Lieutenant Kyle and transports to the planet below. :"Captain’s log, supplemental entry. Two drops of cordrazine can save a man's life, a hundred times that amount has just accidentally been pumped into Dr. McCoy's body. In a strange, wild frenzy, he has fled the ship's bridge. All connecting decks have been placed on alert. We have no way of knowing if the madness is permanent or temporary, or in what direction it will drive McCoy." Kirk, Spock, Uhura, Scott and two security officers beam down to look for McCoy. During their search, Spock and Kirk discover the source of the time displacement. It is a rough, egg-shaped ring. After a discussion between Spock and Kirk, the portal introduces itself as the Guardian of Forever, and as being, itself, its own beginning and own ending. It begins to display the history of Earth through the center of the ring. A curtain of mist descends across the images. McCoy is discovered and subdued by a Vulcan nerve pinch. After the struggle, Kirk and Spock return to the portal. Spock is upset that he is not recording the events visible through the portal. He begins recording. McCoy awakens from his unconsciousness and learns enough to realize he can escape through the Guardian. He races past Spock and Kirk, through the Guardian, and into Earth's past. Then Uhura notes that contact with the Enterprise has been lost. The Guardian explains that history has been altered, resulting in the ship's absence. Kirk and Spock are forced to enter the portal in an attempt to stop McCoy from changing history. Spock uses his tricorder recording to estimate the appropriate time for their leap. :"Captain’s log, no stardate. For us, time does not exist. McCoy, back somewhere in the past, has affected a change in the course of time. All Earth history has been changed. There is no starship ''Enterprise. We have only one chance. We have asked the Guardian to show us Earth's history again: Spock and I will go back into time ourselves, and attempt to set right whatever it was that McCoy changed."'' The two arrive on Earth in the United States in 1930. They are obviously out of place with their Starfleet uniforms and Spock's pointed ears. Kirk steals clothes from a fire escape to aid in their disguise. A policeman catches the two in the act, and after a poor excuse for the theft, and Spock's ears, they subdue the officer with the Vulcan nerve pinch. With other law enforcement hot on their heels, they duck into a soup kitchen called the Twenty-First Street Mission. There they meet Edith Keeler, the woman who runs the shelter. Unable to view the video acquired on the tricorder, the two must work to pay for supplies to modify its rate of playback. Kirk returns with radio tubes, wires and other items. Spock is noticeably frustrated at the lack of technology in the 1930s. He spends many hours building circuits and connections. After several successes and setbacks, the tricorder eventually reveals its wealth of information. Spock sees Edith Keeler's imminent obituary. Then he plays the recording for Kirk – and they see a report about Edith Keeler's meeting with United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt six years hence. She cannot have two futures; they've discovered the point where McCoy altered the past. But did he save her? Or kill her? And how? McCoy arrives approximately one week after Kirk and Spock. His face is mottled and green from the effects of the cordrazine. He shouts, "Murderers! Killers!", from his paranoia. He meets a homeless man who frequents the 21st Street Mission and questions him about their location, time, planet, and constellations. His shock at the unfamiliar world, combined with the side effects of the drug, forces McCoy into unconsciousness. The homeless man searches McCoy and finds his phaser. While trying to assess its value, the man engages the device and annihilates himself along with the weapon (thus avoiding the thorny issue of leaving futuristic technology in the past). We are briefly left to wonder if this is the alteration: did this man's inadvertent death alter Keeler's future? After sleeping off some of the effects of the cordrazine, McCoy makes his way to the shelter, where Ms. Keeler helps him into a room where he can rest. Spock narrowly misses seeing him in the lunch room. With more work, Spock concludes that McCoy changed history by saving Edith Keeler's life. Keeler went on to organize a peace movement that delayed the United States' entry into the war – and Germany was able to complete its heavy water and rocket experiments. With atomic bombs, and rockets to carry them, the Nazis conquered the world. Kirk admits that he is in love with Edith Keeler. Spock informs him, "Edith Keeler must die." The effects of the drug slowly wear off, and McCoy eventually has the strength to offer to help at the shelter, in gratitude. Edith explains that her "young man" is taking her to a Clark Gable movie. McCoy, not knowing who Clark Gable is, shocks Edith with his lack of knowledge. That evening, Kirk and Edith are strolling along on their date. As they make their way across the street, Edith mentions going to the Clark Gable movie. Kirk asks, "A what?" Edith responds in shock that Dr. McCoy said the same thing. Kirk, finally hearing of McCoy's existence, tells Edith to stay put and heads back to the shelter yelling for Spock. As he approaches the curb, McCoy exits the front door. With expressions of joy and relief, they hug. Edith, confused by the commotion, begins to cross the street. A large truck is heading her direction. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy look on to see the event that is about to take place. Kirk restrains McCoy and prevents him from rushing to Edith to save her life. "Do you know what you just did?" McCoy questions. Kirk, in agony, pushes him away. Spock responds, "He knows, Doctor. He knows." Having corrected history, the three men return through the portal to their own time. The Guardian offers more opportunities to visit the past, but Kirk declines, saying only "Let's get the hell out of here." A heartbroken Kirk and the rest of the landing party return to the Enterprise. History has been saved, but at a terrible personal cost. As the party beams away, the howling of the wind once more becomes the only audible sound, as the Guardian awaits the next moment in time that it is asked a question. Memorable Quotes "One day soon, man is going to be able to harness incredible energies, maybe even the atom, energies that could ultimately hurl us to other worlds in... some sort of spaceship. And the men that reach out into space will be able to find ways to feed the hungry millions of the world and to cure their diseases. They will be able to find a way to give each man hope and a common future. And those are the days worth living for..." : - Edith Keeler "A question. Since before your sun burned hot in space, and before your race was born, I have awaited ... a question." : - The Guardian of Forever "Are you machine, or being?" "I am both; and neither. I am my own beginning, my own ending." "... I see no reason for answers to be couched in riddles." "I answer as simply as your level of understanding makes possible." : - Kirk, The Guardian of Forever, and Spock "A time portal, Captain: a gateway to other times and dimensions, if I'm correct." "As correct as possible, for you. Your science knowledge is obviously primitive." : - Spock and The Guardian of Forever, discussing its nature "My friend is obviously Chinese. I see you've noticed the ears. They're actually easy to explain." "Perhaps the unfortunate accident I had as a child." "The unfortunate accident he had as a child. He caught his head in a mechanical... rice picker. But fortunately, there was an American missionary living close by who was actually a, uh... skilled plastic surgeon in civilian life." : - Kirk and Spock, explaining Spock's appearance to a police officer "A lie is a poor way to say hello." : - Edith Keeler "Wha...what on earth is that?" "I am endeavouring, ma'am, to create a mnemonic memory circuit, using stone knives ... and bearskins." : - Edith Keeler and Spock "You! What planet is this?" : - McCoy, under the influence of cordrazine to a homeless man "No! Don't run! I won't kill you! It's ''they who do the killing! Don't run, I won't kill you!!" : - '''McCoy' to a homeless man after arriving in the past "You deliberately stopped me! I could have saved her! Do you know what you just did?" "He knows, doctor... he knows." : - McCoy and Spock, after Kirk prevents McCoy from intervening in Keeler's death "Time has resumed its shape; all is as it was before. Many such journeys are possible. Let me be your gateway." : - The Guardian of Forever, after the return of Kirk, Spock and McCoy "Let's get the hell out of here." : - Kirk's last words to the landing party, after restoration of the timeline Background Information Cast * Though uncredited, the yeoman at the beginning of this episode looks like Maurishka Taliaferro, who appears in the next episode, "Operation -- Annihilate!", as Yeoman Zahra Jamal. Sets and props * The set used for New York City in this episode (called "Forty Acres") is the same set used for The Andy Griffith Show. If you look closely while Kirk is walking with Edith Keeler, you can see them pass the courthouse and Floyd's barber shop. * Watch for Scott, McCoy and one of the security officers looking for their transporter positions at the end of the episode when the crew are beamed back aboard the Enterprise. * The alley in which Kirk steals the clothing from the fire-escape is the same alley seen in "Miri", in which Spock and the guards have debris dumped on them by the children. * The footage seen through the time portal is, for the most part, lifted from old Paramount films. Story and production * Due to copyright issues, the original recording of Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight was replaced during the 90s by another version for VHS and Laserdisc releases. Eventually this was corrected for the DVD release. New music was also composed for this episode, incorporating the song, but the composer of this music is not credited. In the scene when the Rodent is stealing the milk, music from "Mudd's Women" is heard. An ominous, discordant piano note is added to the music to make it even more sinister. * There's an oft-overlooked continuity error in Act I. As the Enterprise is going through the 'ripples in time,' Kirk steps to the upper level of the bridge to join Spock at his station. When the helm short-circuits, the next shot is of Kirk standing back down at his command chair, calling McCoy to the bridge for a medical emergency. **''It is possible that Kirk's change in position was caused by the "ripples in time" and subsequent changes in the time-line.'' * Much of the dialog in the scene where Kirk and Spock encounter the police officer is looped due to the outdoor location. Strangely, the dialog of the police officer is used exactly as it was filmed, including the background noise, giving the scene a clunky feel. * The Guardian of Forever claims it is its own beginning, its own ending. But when asked by Kirk if it can alter the speed at which time passes in the portal, the Guardian says it was "made" to offer the past in this way and that it cannot change. There seems to be a contradiction in logic: A machine/entity capable of self-creation (its own beginning), yet unable to change itself. **''The ability to create itself does not imply the ability to change itself. Indeed, the Guardian would have to be "unchangeable" to circumvent the paradox of an altered timeline affecting the source of its own alteration.'' *A second, seemingly contradictory statement can also be noted in exact same pairs of sentences, where the Guardian's claims to either self-creation or self-existence is afterwards met by its claim of having been "...made to offer the past in this manner," and thus unable to change, thereby implicative of an outside and/or older creative source. * The effects team nicknamed the Guardian "the big donut." * Well-documented by fans is the fact that Clark Gable was by no means a leading man in 1930. We could take 1930 as a round figure, but for the fact that Kirk says 1936 is "six years from now." (The final shooting draft of this script has Edith reference "a Richard Dix movie," but it was probably decided on-set that even in 1966 Dix was long forgotten, and someone probably suggested his name be replaced by that of the more recognizable Clark Gable.) * The stock footage used in this episode was well-selected; nevertheless, there are two anachronisms visible in the stock shot representing Kirk and Spocks' flat: a nuclear fallout shelter sign on a wall and a lady wearing 1960s horn-rim glasses. * No stardate is logged in the episode. Bjo Trimble assigned a stardate of 3134 based on Harlan Ellison's original teleplay, which covered stardates 3134.6-8. * The title of this episode refers to both the dead city on the time planet and New York itself, where the timeline will either be restored or disrupted. In Ellison's original script, Kirk, upon first seeing the city sparkling like a jewel on a high mountaintop, reverently says it looks like "a city on the edge of forever" – a poetic line, sadly excised. * Only two lines from Ellison's original teleplay survive in the final episode, both spoken by the Guardian: "Since before your sun burned hot in space, since before your race was born," and "Time has resumed its shape." * In the scene where Kirk and Spock first encounter the Guardian, there is a sliver of dialog that seems out of place. As Spock is sharing his observations of the Guardian, Kirk says, "That's funny," a line that begs for an additional bit of explanatory dialog but was evidently clipped in editing. (Alternately, Kirk could be responding to Spock's previous line, wherein he indicates that he's at a loss to explain how the Guardian operates. For Spock not to have an explanation for something would indeed be odd, at least to Kirk.) * In Ellison's first treatment for this episode, Edith's last name was Koestler. The city they traveled back in time to was Chicago. * Edith Keeler tells Kirk "Let me help". Kirk replies, "A hundred years or so from now, a famous novelist will write a classic using that theme. He'll recommend those three words, even over 'I love you'". Kirk tells her that the novelist will come from a planet circling the far left star in Orion's belt. Actually, Zeta Orionis (or Alnitak) is a trinary star system. * James Doohan can be seen rubbing his neck after McCoy leaps into the portal, yet McCoy never struck Scotty in his escape. A more involved escape by McCoy was likely filmed and edited out. **''Scotty has been shown in other episodes rubbing his neck as a reaction to nervousness, apprehension, worry, aggravation, or consternation.'' Effects * When Kirk looks up at the stars at the end of Act One, an overlay effect allows us to shift from the planet set to a starscape, similar to the ending of each episode of The Twilight Zone. For unknown reasons, just before the scene fades out, the stars jump and change to a different pattern. * Some excellent double-exposures allow our heroes to leap out of brick walls in this episode. * Seven people are beamed up to the ship at the end, but the transporter has only six pads. In "Day of the Dove" a much larger group is dematerialized at the same time, but some are held in transit. * Stock footage from "Dagger of the Mind" is used for Kirk's and Spock's reaction shots to McCoy's cordrazine overdose on the bridge. * During the speech scene in the Mission where Kirk and Spock have sat down with their soup, the director repeated (and slowed down) several close-up shots of Spock and Kirk, taken from later in the scene, and used them as reaction shots during Edith's prognostications. * The close up of the tricorder showing the 'rewinding video' is used several other times throughout the series. *"The City on the Edge of Forever" was the fifth episode of the "remastered" version of The Original Series to air. It premiered in syndication on the weekend of and most notably featured new effects shots of the time vortex planet from space as well as a slightly tweaked pan up from the planet's surface into space. Also, the freeze-framing over the credits at the close of the episode were eliminated. Apocrypha * In James Blish's adaptation of this episode, during Edith's soup-kitchen prophecies, Spock leans over to Kirk and says, "Bonner the Stochastic," to which Kirk replies, "He won't be born for a hundred years yet." Bonner the Stochastic was a character who appeared in several of Blish's novels, and was inserted into this episode's prose adaptation by Blish himself. Stochastic refers to any process (including thinking) that uses randomness or conjecture. Fan fiction writers such as Claire Gabriel sometimes designate Bonner as the Orion novelist who came up with "Let me help". The final shooting script, dated , specifies that the novelist's name is Patrick Koluuunahmeheheh Tajnaahme. Significance and legacy * By popular acclaim, this is the single best episode of the original series (TOS), earning a 1968 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation (and the other four nominees were all episodes of Star Trek). It would be 25 years before another television program received the honor (TNG's "The Inner Light"). TV Guide also ranked it #68 in their 100 Most Memorable Moments in TV History feature in the edition, and also featured it in another issue on the 100 greatest TV episodes of all time. * The portal is revisited in the animated series episode "Yesteryear" and numerous books. * Harlan Ellison was dismayed with the changes Gene Roddenberry and D.C. Fontana made to his story (which included, among other things, a drug addicted Enterprise crewman) – so much so, that he wished his credit to read "written by Cordwainer Bird," a request Roddenberry denied. Though Ellison had the final right to have his pseudonym attached, he claims that Roddenberry made veiled threats to the effect that if he did so he would "never work in this town again." * In his adaptation of the story in Star Trek 2, James Blish explained to readers that he tried to preserve the best elements of both Ellison's original script and the final version. In the original, because Kirk does not act to prevent Edith's death, Spock later tells him that "No other woman was ever offered the universe for love." Blish's adaptation preserves the final version of Kirk allowing Edith to die, with the result that Spock tells him, "No other woman was ever almost offered the universe for love"--a far less poetic observation. * In interviews, Ellison has expressed annoyance with Joan Collins' mis-remembrance of the role she played. While he intended Edith to be a sort of secular version of Aimee Semple MacPherson, Collins persists in referring to her role in this episode as "Hitler's girlfriend", an apparent reference to the fact that if Edith had lived, it would have benefited Hitler's Germany. * Bantam Books published a series of novelizations called "foto-novels," which took photographic stills from actual episodes and arranged word balloons and text over them, to create a comic book formatted story. The first installment was an adaptation of this episode. * In 1991, two months before his death, Gene Roddenberry counted this as one of his top ten favorite episodes. *This is the first mention of Nazi Germany in Star Trek. A race which adopted a Nazi style regime also appear in TOS: "Patterns of Force". The theme is reprised in later shows: on VOY: "The Killing Game", where Hirogen take over ''Voyager'' and use the holodeck to recreate Nazi Germany, and then in ENT: "Zero Hour", and "Storm Front", when agents from the Temporal Cold War send Captain Archer and the ''Enterprise'' NX-01 back to the Second World War. cover art montage.]] * The "Crucible" trilogy of novels follows up on plot elements from this episode. Production history 1960s * Story outline: * First draft: * Second revised final draft: * Rewrite draft: . It has been reported that there are two versions of this with one marked as the "Shooting Script" with a cover date of 27 January, but all of the other pages marked as 30 January. (see talk page for more details) * Final draft of rewrite: * Filmed: Early * Premiere airdate: * First rerun: * Wins Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation: 1970s * "Yesteryear", featuring the Guardian of Forever, premieres: * Six Science Fiction Plays, edited by Roger Elwood, includes the teleplay (albeit a slightly different version than Ellison published in 1995): * ''Star Trek'' Fotonovel #1: 1980s * CED VideoDisc: * "Yesterday's Son", a novel featuring the Guardian of Forever: * US LaserDisc: 1990s * Japan LaserDisc: * The City on the Edge of Forever - (Ellison hardcover): - ISBN 1880325039 * The City on the Edge of Forever - Orignal Teleplay: (Ellison paperback): * VHS: - ISBN 6300213323 * Entertainment Weekly ranks it as the #1 TOS episode: Fall * "Look Back in Anger", an essay by Harlan Ellison, appears in the TV Guide magazine special "Star Trek: Four Generations": Spring * Ranked #68 in TV Guide's 100 Most Memorable Moments in TV History: * Harlan Ellison's The City on the Edge of Forever (book): - ISBN 1565049640 * Spock action figure (Playmates Warp Factor Series 5): 2000s * Region 1 DVD 1st release: * Region 2 DVD (box set): * Region 1 DVD 2nd release (box set): * "In Harm's Way", an episode of New Voyages, returns to the Guardian's planet: * Region 1 DVD 3rd release (Star Trek: Fan Collective - Time Travel): * Remastered airdate: Links and References Starring * William Shatner as Kirk * Leonard Nimoy as Spock Guest Star * Joan Collins as Sister Edith Keeler Featuring * DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy * James Doohan as Scott * George Takei as Sulu * Nichelle Nichols as Uhura And * John Harmon as Rodent * Hal Baylor as Policeman * David L. Ross as Galloway * John Winston as Kyle (credited as "transporter chief") * Bartell La Rue as Guardian Voice * Eddie Paskey as Leslie (uncredited) * Michael Barrier as DeSalle (Guard #1 - uncredited) * Howard Culver as the drunk (uncredited) * Adolf Hitler as Adolf Hitler (voice - uncredited) Stunts * Cary Loftin as Truck Driver (stunt - uncredited) * Dave Perna as McCoy stunt double (uncredited) * Bobby Bass as Scott stunt double (uncredited) * Mary Statier as Keeler stunt double (uncredited) References 20th century; Alnitak; Bailey, Will; Barnes, Gus; Boise; constellations; cordrazine; duodynetic field core; Fischer's Infant Wear; flop; Floyd's Barber Shop; Gable, Clark; Germany; gold; Great Depression; Guardian of Forever; Kidd, Killer; Lloyd, Gus; Madison Square Garden; March Bake Shop; Mason, Mike; Mason, Ricky; McCook, Kid; mechanical rice picker; mnemonic memory circuit; Mulaney, Charley; Orpheum; Outer Mongolia; platinum; Prado, Manuel; Sencio, Buddy; silver; Singer's Book Store; Star Dispatch, The; stone knives and bearskins; Thailand; Twenty-First Street Mission; Victor Ice Company; Walt's Restaurant; Widin Dairy Farm; World War II; zinc Other references Lee's Summit; Paris; Jean Labeau; Bobby Cabe; Alfredo Pedillo Jose; Missouri; United States dollar; Bangkok; Thailand *Harlan Ellison; The City on the Edge of Forever; White Wolf Publishing; ISBN 1-56-504964-0 (1st edition, hardcover, 1996) External Links * City on the Edge of Forever, The de:Griff in die Geschichte es:The City on the Edge of Forever fr:The City on the Edge of Forever nl:The City on the Edge of Forever